Akonix Reduces Corporate Risks Associated With New California Security Breach Information Act -SB 1386-.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 5, 2003

Instant Messaging and P2P Security Solutions Help Organizations

Maintain Confidential Information and Keep Their Networks Safe And

Secure

Akonix Systems, Inc., the first company to make public instant messaging safe, secure and manageable for use in corporate networks, today announced the availability of enterprise solutions that help organizations comply with the new California Security Breach Information Act (SB 1386) for corporate use of Instant Messaging (IM) and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing.

Beginning July 1st 2003, companies based in California, or those that conduct business with customers in California, are required to notify customers and/or the public if they believe that a customer's personal information has been distributed without authorization. SB 1386 defines personal information as any record that includes a person's first name or initial, last name, and social security number. Other items include California driver's license number, California ID number, or financial account number with a password or PIN (personal identification number).

Akonix can help organizations protect confidential information on their networks by providing them with secure solutions for securing against the dangers associated with real-time communication applications. The use of real-time communication technologies, including IM and P2P, can expose corporate networks to a variety of security risks, including increased vulnerability to hacker attacks and virus infections, as well as increasing the likelihood of confidential information being disclosed to external parties. Although organizations typically invest in some form of network perimeter security, such as firewalls and content monitoring applications, IM and P2P protocols are specifically designed to circumvent these traditional security measures, requiring organization to adopt new policies and integrate additional security features that effectively manage real-time applications.

"Companies that do business in California have a new incentive to prevent security breaches," said Dan Keldsen, of Delphi Group. "Unmanaged employee use of IM and P2P file sharing introduce tremendous security risks that allow hackers and viruses full access to corporate networks and make it easy to accidentally expose confidential information. Taming IM and turning it into a productive tool rather than an open hole is a must. The value of IM is too important and useful for both internal and external communications to attempt to kill it entirely."

Due to increased bandwidth and the availability of high-speed internet connections, the use of public real-time applications in the workplace is growing rapidly. Analysts have predicted that IM will supplant email as the most popular form of business communication by the year 2005. In addition a recent study by the Canada-based network monitoring firm AssetMetrix found P2P applications were present in 77 percent of 560 corporate networks across a broad section of industry sectors, with some companies showing P2P applications on as many as 58 percent of their PCs.

The most popular P2P application being used today is KaZaA, a freely downloadable file sharing application with over 230 million users worldwide. In addition to being an open window to the corporate network, P2P applications such as KaZaA are known to hide spyware components in their architecture, making it easy for an employee to unknowingly release confidential information to an unauthorized external party. A study released by HP Labs found that users of popular file-swapping programs frequently expose personal data to other network users by mislabeling the files that can be shared.

"Any organization that does business in the state of California and collects personal information needs to expand their existing security and privacy policies to include Instant Messaging and P2P," said Peter Shaw, CEO of Akonix. "We often hear from organizations that are surprised to find out how extensive the use of Instant Messaging and P2P applications is within their network. The ease with which personal information can be compromised through these applications is well documented."

Akonix is committed to providing organizations with solutions that help minimize the risks associated with corporate IM and P2P. The company's efforts are designed to enable organizations to make informed IT decisions that allow them to gain the benefits of real-time communication technologies, while employing the necessary security measures to keep their networks safe and secure.

About Akonix

Akonix Systems, Inc. headquartered in San Diego, California is an award-winning provider of enterprise software that transforms public Instant Messaging (IM) into a safe, secure and manageable business-critical application. The company's offerings help corporations, public and private institutions and universities monitor, block and manage both public IM and Peer-to-Peer (P2P) file sharing. Backed by three premier venture capital firms, the company protects enterprise networks from the dangers of unmanaged public IM and P2P file sharing.

Akonix Rogue Aware is available for free download and monitors and reports on P2P and public IM use within an enterprise network. Akonix Enforcer protects organizations by preventing unauthorized use of P2P file sharing and public IM. Akonix L7 Enterprise enables corporations to secure, manage and report on IM usage, while satisfying Federal, industry and corporate compliance requirements. Free trials of all of the products are available for download at www.akonix.com/freetrial. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.akonix.com.

Akonix is a registered trademark of Akonix Systems, Inc. All other trademarks, tradenames, service marks, service names and images mentioned and/or used herein belong to their respective owners.